Joey Bianca's 2006 Saratoga Diary

[Kasept]

Fresh out of the inner city and the concrete jungle that is Brooklyn, New York, our man Joey Bets (AKA 'The Ateam') has been relocated to upstate NY for a six-week excursion at Saratoga Race Course, and will chronicle the experience with words, photographs, and hopefully lots of winning tickets, in what we like to call SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER.

With a few minor exceptions, Joey's column will be updated daily and posted in the Derby Trail forums. Hope you enjoy..

Steve

[GPK]

Will Ebonics be needed for translation????? JOKING!!!!!!

[ateamstupid]

SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER [Jul. 25th, 2006|09:14 pm]
Ladies and Gentlemen ... broadcasting to you LIVE from Greenwich, New York, Saratoga: Diary of a Summer commences. We're under sixteen hours from the first race at Saratoga Race Course, and the world of horse racing buzzes like a broken doorbell in anticipation.

I'll be your host, Joseph "Danger" Bianca, AKA the ATEAM from derbytrail.com, and my job this year will be to bring those of you without the privilege of being here at SAR the opportunity to live vicariously through me, "The Celebrity" Steve Byk, Matt (AKA "Hoovsie"), Barry Frey, Sammy "The Enforcer", and many more.

We'll be giving you every detail of the next six weeks, from the racing, to the backstretch schmoozing, to the gambling, to the sandwich making, every excruciating detail that makes Saratoga: Diary of a Summer.

Enjoy..

[boldruler]

Here it is

http://summerwithtoga.livejournal.com/


Picked the first race. So far so good.

[boldruler]

http://summerwithtoga.livejournal.com/

[ateamstupid]

Tired as **** right now. Wish I had the disk reader for my camera so I could share some of the backstretch shots I got the other day.

Today was reckless man. Nothing like the type of broads you see on opening day at Saratoga. Made some decent money, but a terrible day at the windows. I gave a few winners out on this site (Massoud, Awesome Twist), but had no win money on either. Then needed Mach Three to bail me out at the end of the day and he didn't lift a foot. Nothing like handicapping well and losing money..

Tipsy again.. Matty was making the joke "Every entry on this journal is gonna be 'Got drunk with Hooves today', 'Got drunk with Hooves today' ".. LOL.

Bykster is in the other room handicapping for tomorrow. Sam AKA King of the Nightlife is actually in his bed at 11:04.. ****ing sight to behold man.. He and Pat are scooping up all the prospects and I can't figure it out for the life of me.

Not looking forward to tomorrow. Had some help today and tomorrow will be on my own. Hopefully the crowd isn't as large though.. Gotta prepare for that 12:30-3:30 run.

Ah, the card:

Say Revain looks logical in the 6th.. 7th is wide the **** open.. Scat Daddy is the horse to beat in the 8th, but if he loses, it'll be to anybody except Bagger Vance. Not much info there I guess.. Carlos Martin's assistant says Secret Agent wins the finale. Guess you got singles on the bookends of the late Pick Four. Who knows. Don't have any huge convictions about tomorrow's card.

Big respect to Patrick Biancone for putting Lady of Venice, possibly the best turf filly in the country, in The Diana. Gamesmanship. Something that's been lost in racing the last 10 years. Biancone is my new favorite trainer.

Enjoy Thursday, folks, I gotta get some sleep and make sure Sammy ain't sneaking out on the town without bringing me along.

[ateamstupid]

Letdown day at the Spa [Jul. 27th, 2006|09:37 pm]
I'm on my ****ing laptop racing against the clock because this damn battery lasts like 45 minutes if I've been a good boy.

Barry's laundry is taking forever. I gotta dry some **** man, let's go. You wear the same thing every day anyway.

Better day at the windows today, simply because I bailed out on Luzzi's horse in the finale. Was glad Scat Daddy ran down Teuflesberg, because I was considering play 'berg in the double.

SLOW, SLOW, SLOW day. I'm talking Real World: Paris slow. No one made a dime business-wise.

Great scene today after the races. Matt and I see Pletcher coming out of the track alongside us, and I bust out with "T-Pletch! Nice win today BOY!" Hilarious, considering I think everyone else calls him "sir."

Byk is sick. It's because he doesn't eat.

I want some beers, but this lazy dude Hooves won't drive to the store..

****ing unbelievable. I gotta go downstate for my cousin's wedding on Saturday, meaning I have to leave after the races tomorrow and hop a bus or train home. I'm thinking I'll get on the Greyhound because it'll be like $20 whereas the train is $50. ****ing bus is $41.50. Sickening. I gotta drop close to $100 just to hit up this wedding. I don't mean to sound cheap. Later in the meet, money will probably be a little looser, but right now it's in the Vulcan Death Grip.

Hope I hit a Four tomorrow. Card looks unspectacular..

Can't really give out anything. Lake George looks to be between Quite A Bride and Magnificent Song. Gotta find some locks, and it looks like I'll have to break one of the Ten Commandments of Handicapping and single a NY-bred. That's what sucks about playing the NYRA circuit. Gonna have to single some NY-breds, which one should never do while sober and lucid..

Good luck Friday.

[Scav]

This one was weak besides the T-Pletch reference, I like that

[boldruler]

These are very funny. Getting better each day.

[my miss storm cat]

This was a great read...... can't wait for the next installment. :)

[ateamstupid]

Sixteenth in [Jul. 28th, 2006|08:16 pm]
Not too enamored with Mr. Derby Trail America right now. Dude barked on me something serious last night over me opening his door and waking him up on my way to the bathroom.

Mind you, this is the same ****ing guy, who, when we stayed together in Louisville, woke me up at 4:30 EVERY ****ING MORNING for two weeks by AK-47'ing his laptop keys non-stop and printing the Thoro-Graph sheets for every horse that's run in the United States since 1971.

Don't get me wrong, I love Steve and consider him one of my close friends, but the hypocrisy of that tirade last night was off the ****ing scale.

Did quite well at my post today thanks to the rain. Made five cheap bets throughout the day, four exacta boxes (three with 2 horses and one with 3) I split with Tommy and two cheap win tickets on Magnificent Song and Quite A Bride. Hit Magnificent Song, who I couldn't belive paid $8.20, and in our exacta boxes, Tommy and I hit the three-horse box, then ran 2-3, 1-3 and 1-3 in our two-horse boxes, respectively. Not too bad.

A prime example of why it sucks to handicap an entire card in one sitting. Last night, by the time Matt and I got to the 7th race, I couldn't figure it out for ****. Today, I take one ****ing 30-second look at the race, say "Owns the Place is gonna be out there by himself," and close the damn Form. Didn't play him though, because I saw how outside horses were running and thought someone still might run him down. On top of that, the horse that beat me and Tommy out of the exacta was a Suffolk shipper I'd talked about with Tom just a bit earlier.

I'll be at the works tomorrow with Matt, so should have some good pictures by Sunday night. Gotta hop a Greyhound at 8:15 AM, get into the city at 12:15 and get into CT by 4:30. The wedding is at 6. Think I'll have a chance to bet tomorrow's card while I'm waiting for the train in the city.

See yous Sunday.

[31lengths]

Duuuuuude.....
did you make it ?

[ateamstupid]

My last 36 hours [Jul. 30th, 2006|07:16 pm]
Saturday:

6:00 AM - Woke up and had Hooves drive me to the Greyhound stop in 'toga.

7:00 AM - Got dropped off at the stop and proceeded to wait for the bus.

8:25 AM - Bus finally comes and I hop on.

9:15 AM - Bus arrives in Albany. I buy a ticket to the city ($36.50!) and get on another bus.

12:10 PM - Arrive in the city, head to get some food.

12:40 PM - Hit up the most depressing OTB in the entire state in order to make my bets for the day.. This place makes other OTBs look like lavish Vegas casinos.. You could start a new planet with all the different species and creatures found in there. It's like a sick ****ing biology experiment. And the worst part is that it's in an upscale neighborhood, so it makes absolutely no sense for it to be so disgusting.

1:10 PM - Meet up with the folks at Penn Station.

2:00 PM - Board train for New London, CT.

2:15 PM - Brush fire on the tracks is delaying our train.

4:45 PM - We arrive in New London a half-hour late. A friend of the family drives us to her room at the Red Roof Inn, where I change into a suit.

5:30 PM - Arrive at the wedding, get seated, then proceed to wait forever for it to start.

6:30 PM - Ceremony finally begins. Anyone who bet the under on "when Joey's mom starts crying" is cashing heavy right now. She barely got through the doors without starting the faucet. Ceremony lasts about a half-hour, and is very nice. Matt and Jess are officially hitched and I'm really happy for Matt, who has become my favorite cousin.

6:45 PM - The bar opens..

7:15 PM - Three Rum and Cokes later, I'm trying to get my dad to help me figure out which girls aren't my third cousins so that I don't feel guilty ogling them..

8:30 PM - If you ever wanted to see an example of the "white people can't dance" stereotype, this was the place to get that look. It was unbelievable. I don't know what I was expecting out of a bunch of white people from Connecticut, but I was still blown away. I can't hate on them though, since they looked like they were having fun.

10:00 PM - On my seventh Rum and Coke, I'm ready to bounce..

11:00 PM - Up to nine RnCs.. Old man is a little tipsy himself, and we're ready to bounce.

11:25 PM - Board train back for the Apple..

2:00 AM - A few hours of really terrible sleep later, we return to NYC.

3:00 AM - Reach the house, which is such a ****ing tease, because you feel for a second as if you're done with work, then realize, wait, "I have to get up in three hours and go work another five weeks!"

3:30 AM - Pissed off that Corinthian and Lady of Venice let me down, I show my pops what kind of monster Bernardini is on Race Replays.. He's not a racing fan at all, but even he can see how special this colt is. Easily the second best horse I've ever seen, and who knows, maybe he becomes #1.. Pretty pissed that I didn't get to see him in person, then realize I'll probably get to see him when he's 1/20 in the Travers.

4:00 AM - Fall asleep.

6:00 AM - Wake up. ****ing sucks.

7:35 AM - Get on board train for Saratoga Springs..

10:45 AM - Long ass ****ing delay in Albany. As if I'm not late enough..

11:45 AM - Train finally pulls into 'toga Springs a half-hour late. I call Barry to let him know I'm gonna be late today. He's surprisingly understanding.

12:00 PM - Get into a cab to take me to the track. The driver spins around forever looking for this other passenger, whom she finally picks up. This woman starts babbling on about her sponsored daughter in Bolivia. She's got pictures and information and everything. I can't make this **** up.

12:30 PM - Finally at the track, and Barry sends me to Sam's place to work for the day.

It's 10 PM right now, and I'm exhausted.

Hooves' bitch ass was saying how this stuff should have more to do with the horses, but you know what? People go on DT for ONLY horse racing stuff.. There's only so much you can ****ing say. I like to mix in the racing talk with the other **** that occupies my time up here.. It's ****ing SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER.. Not Talkin' Horses..

But okay..

Tomorrow's card:

The opener is a three-horse affair between the 6, 7 and 8. I like Schosberg's horse in the second, and I love Spring House to pull the upset in the third. Andromeda's Hero and Bank President are the horses to beat in there. Working on the late pick four, which is started by a ****ing impossible NY-bred 2-year-old race.. If you're the NYRA racing secretary, and you have any semblance of a heart, why would you start the Pick Four with some garbage like that? It's disgusting. Songster is a single, the finale is between the 9 and the 10..

The Pletcher baby who won the second today reminded me a lot of English Channel.. Smart Strike chestnut, broke dead last, then rallied to score with a strong run.

If you let your skepticism get in the way of appreciating a horse like Bernardini, just stop watching the races.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on DT.. See you tomorrow.

[GenuineRisk]

Ateam, please keep the commentary on other subjects mixed in with the racing talk! I love it. A) it's some funny sh*t and B) it adds so much to the racing observations. Sometimes I think outsiders' view of racing fans doesn't go much beyond what they hear in "I Got the Horse Right Here" in [I]Guys and Dolls[I] and when I tell non-racing friends how smart and funny and opinionated and just all around good conversationalists the people here are, I see them struggle to believe... yes, horse racing people do think of things besides the morning line...

(Though after all these years with me my husband was very pleased to deduce from the lyrics of the aforementioned song that the horse being sung about was not a "mudder." I don't think he ever used that word before. They're so sweet, the non-racing people...)

[ateamstupid]

This is gonna be a lame entry [Aug. 1st, 2006|12:00 am]
Happy August.

Long day today, but I got to meet up with Serling and Sciacca and there wasn't much to do. Got two days off now, and I'm THRILLED.

Horrible day at the windows. Everything I played ran up the track and the one horse I didn't play (the 3 in the 4th) wins and pays $26..

Thought I was gonna bail out for the day after I brought home Court Folly in the first leg of the late double, was five deep into the 9th, and still got beaten. Mikey was right.. The track was absolute death on speed.

Spent.. Absolutely spent.. Tomorrow will be a good entry, I promise.

[oracle80]

This is gonna be a lame entry [Aug. 1st, 2006|12:00 am]
Happy August.

Long day today, but I got to meet up with Serling and Sciacca and there wasn't much to do. Got two days off now, and I'm THRILLED.

Horrible day at the windows. Everything I played ran up the track and the one horse I didn't play (the 3 in the 4th) wins and pays $26..

Thought I was gonna bail out for the day after I brought home Court Folly in the first leg of the late double, was five deep into the 9th, and still got beaten. Mikey was right.. The track was absolute death on speed.

Spent.. Absolutely spent.. Tomorrow will be a good entry, I promise.


Joey and hooves are VERY funny guys. Hanging with them is a guranteed laugh. You won't get bored with these guys!!!

[ateamstupid]

Told ya' it would be a better entry [Aug. 1st, 2006|07:44 pm]
If this doesn't wet your Saratoga appetite, I have no idea what the **** will.

Today was easily the best day of the meet, by far..

A. No worky work.
B. I could wake up whenever the **** I wanted.
C. We got to hang out with the coolest roundtable at the track, with no one else around. We had Shrek 'n' Donkey, Sonny the Placement Judge, Donny Capone and Richie, me, Steve and Matt with Malcolm in the background. Sciacca told some great stories as we were eating pizza and subs from Marino's in an empty track. Let me tell you, if there's one thing better than a buzzing Saratoga, it's a completely ****ing deserted Saratoga.

Oh, and this..


Songster


More Songster.. He's so cute


Balletto.. She's so ****ing photogenic..


More Balletto


Stevie with THE GIIIAAANNNT (Bernardini)..


Matty with The Giant


More of the HOY


Me feeding Songster


Beautiful Balletto


Me scratching Balletto


Cheesin' with Balletto


Bykster with Songster


Henny chewin' on the wall


Henny with the smirk


Great picture of Matt and Henny


Henny and the kid


Invasor not too happy


More Matt and Henny


Spider Power chillin' out by the fan


Love this shot of Trip to the Bank


Last year's Travers canoe


Close-up of Johnny, Todd and Angel's photos..

Awesome day all around.

You definitely could tell that Bern Baby Bern was the boss of that barn. Songster was adorable. Laughing, yawning, just acting a fool. Balletto is ****ing GORGEOUS. Utterly gorgeous. I wasn't much of a Balletto fan before today, but she was so beautiful and so pleasant, I have to root for her now. Henny Hughes is a total ham.. He was all about getting his picture taken as much as possible.

Great day. Byk is finishing up dinner and Sammy just made an appearance. Matt and I have to finish up tomorrow's card, but as of now the PIck 4 and 6 look inscrutable. These 2-year-old races totally throw wrenches into any Pick 4 or 6 plans.

I like Running Dog (hilariously appropriate name for a NY-bred) in the feature and Del Carroll's horse looks pretty intimidating in the finale. Steve, Matt and I all love the More Than Ready horse in the second.. Tough, tough card. 80% of the cards have been very tough thus far..

About time to eat. Hope you guys enjoy the pics. See you tomorrow.

[Scav]

Yo Ateam, I am in envy, those are absolutely awesome.

Tell Hooves that Scav said he is fat

I need to get hooked up and come work their for a summer, screw the future, can only do that once

[timmgirvan]

Great job,Joey.....nice pics and commentary. Thanks very much for the effort! Timm

[ateamstupid]

AND THEY'RE OFF AT 'TOGA.. [Aug. 2nd, 2006|09:33 pm]
No, really, they're off. No horses today.

Argh.. I had a day off already today, and it ends up getting wasted..

Matt, Sam and I headed to the OTB at the harness track and bet ****ing Ellis Park, Arlington and Del Mar. I hit an early Pick 3 at Ellis, then was live to a horse in the late Pick 3 for a nice payoff and the horse didn't lift a foot. Painful.

Back to work tomorrow.. Hope you guys enjoyed the pictures.

Here's an early Pick Four for tomorrow, although it's probably gonna get rained out:

2nd - 2,4,6
3rd - 1
4th - 1,2,4,5,9
5th - 2

[ateamstupid]

Beer is a must [Aug. 3rd, 2006|11:59 pm]
Dude, I shouldn't have done that great post the other day. I got nothing now. Morale is pretty low at The Spa, but I've got six beers in me, so I'm okay at the moment. I needed the 10 pretty badly in the 8th Thursday, but bailed out with a win bet on the 1 in the 9th..

Aw man, Matt, Sam, Steve and I have too many jokes. It's ****ing hilarious.. If I put any of it in the journal, it won't be funny at all, but we sit here cracking up constantly over the same **** over and over.

Love you guys for reading this.. If anyone comes to 'toga, come see me at the second floor clubhouse, and drop me a ****ing tip. Cheap bastards get murked at the window and stop tipping.

Dellinger and Chi-Town brethen, holler at me.

Matt and I got a couple of Pick Fours we're playing tomorrow. Matt says don't post the tickets..

Byk's hip.

[ateamstupid]

Beware: Del Mar [Aug. 4th, 2006|11:48 pm]
It never ceases to amaze me how crooked California racing is. If you want an example, go check out Friday's eighth race at Del Mar. The 3 horse is clearly being held by the starter as the gates open, she rears up, and as a result, spots the field 20 lengths. Automatic refund, right?

Not in CA.. Brush it under the rug. I thought it was just Hollywood that was on the funny ****, but it's the whole ****ing state.

Very busy day today at the Spa. Not a great day at the windows. Played a late Pick 3 singling Reunited in The Honorable Miss and used all in the tenth. Wouldn't you know it.. Reunited doesn't do anything and a $38 horse wins the finale. *SIGH*..

Got to meet Dellinger and friends, who all seem like good people.

Wish I had some insight on the Whitney card, but I was so involved at Del Mar tonight, I didn't get a chance to handicap it. It's just as well.. I don't have to gamble every single day out here..

Enjoy the Saturday races everyone. I gotta get some sleep..

[alysheba4]

well ateam..... i gotta say i hate both del mar and saratoga. i get ****ed with a horse sized tool and both of those ****ing tracks:eek:

[ateamstupid]

Blazing first quarter [Aug. 5th, 2006|11:57 pm]
Ran the first 1/4 mile too quickly and will have to figure out a way to slow it down and save something for the stretch. I'm totally spent, and I got 22 days left to work..

Matt, Sam and I just finished watching Boxing After Dark, and they wanted to see how on point my Harold Lederman impression was. They were not disappointed..

Somehow Vernon Forrest won the fight we were watching by unanimous decision, even though anyone who watched the fight would tell you he got his ass completely torn up. Total fix.

I love the fact that people are reading this **** even though it's been a little slow this week. Thing is, I usually don't get the time to sit down and recap the day until I hit the hay, and by that time, all I can think about is getting as much sleep as possible to minimize my zombieness in the morning. I'll try to make up for the slow entries on Monday and Tuesday.

The late Pick Four looks like it's worth taking a stab at tomorrow. The Delaware horse looks dangerous in the 7th, I like Running Dog in the 8th and Artie should be tough in the 9th.. Figure two of those horses will win.. Then go wide in the 10th and hope to catch a price..

Good luck world.

[ateamstupid]

SAMOKED [Aug. 6th, 2006|10:19 pm]

Got creamed at the windows today. We got six people to put in for the Pick Six tomorrow, and Barry said he'd match what we put up, but Matt and I can't figure it out at all..

Anyway, here's Dellinger AKA The Other Steve with Albertrani and Weaver.


Dell with Weaves


Dell with Albertrani

[ateamstupid]

So check this out [Aug. 7th, 2006|08:18 pm]
$2 Pick Six ticket today, between me, Matt, Barry, Steve, Sam, Tyler and Billy. Handicapped by me and Matt, and funded halfway by Barry..

1,3,4,5,10 / 1,6,12 / 2 / 1,2 / 2 / 7,9,11

We were alive for $7k to the 7, $14k to the 9 and $21k to the 11 going into the 9th.

****ING..

OUCH.

Even though it was a terrible beat, we had a blast.

You know, I would've loved to have a couple grand, but I can't be mad at that right now. We're sitting here, sipping a few beers, and just enjoying the fact that we almost hit a $21k P6 with a $180 ticket and hit the conso three times..

Saratoga is much easier to digest when you have two days off in front of you.

Ready for the next carryover.

[paisjpq]

go be naughty tonight ateam.

[ateamstupid]

Week two finale [Aug. 8th, 2006|06:01 pm]
And what a finale it was.

Got incredibly wasted last night after drinking beer from the time I got home until about 11:30.

Had a ton of fun though partying with some of the girls from work.. We went out into a field here in Greenwich, pounded beers around a fire, played guitar.. It was ****ing incredible, because that type of stuff is entirely the opposite of what I do in the city.. I was in heaven, man.. I told Matt it brought out the inner whiteboy in me.

Then I got a little carried away and all of a sudden felt like my head was going to fall off my shoulders.. I had Amanda and Julie drive me back to Hollywood's crib and all those swerves and turns and ****.. Bad news. Puked all over the outside of the rear passenger door of this girl's car.. Came inside and I don't know what the **** happened after that.. Matt says I passed out at the dinner table and puked some more. He took a picture of me too..

What, you thought SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER wasn't going to include any vomit?

Day off tomorrow and I got funded a little bit with a decent Pick 3 I hit at Finger Lakes today.. Yes, Finger Lakes.

Gotta go 'cap for tomorrow, see ya'..

[ateamstupid]

Day off was off day [Aug. 9th, 2006|11:30 pm]
Started out real well, then slowly went downhill.. Back to work tomorrow.

Matt and Sam are blazing, and Steve and Barry are asleep, so I'm alone..

I apologized to Amanda for painting her car the other night..

Tomorrow's card looks chalky, so bet all bombs, because the last time I said that (Sunday), pretty much all of the faves lost..

Panty Raid rolls in the opener.. Okay, not the opener, the second but I don't recognize that steeplechase foolishness..

In the third, if Miracle Moment is right at all, she should cruise, but those last two races (especially her last) were ****ing TERRIBLE. Still think she gets back on track and gets it done..

Love the More Than Ready horse (Fortissi More) in the fourth..

Fifth is very interesting, and to me, looks to be between Tejida and Lemon Drop Cello..

Sixth is Five Star Daydream's race to lose, but she's gotta avoid a bounce, because there are some nice looking firsters in here (Imperial Reign, All Giving and Infield Lake stand out)..

The Shug entry in the seventh looks imposing.. Figure one of those can run on a fast track and neither should have problems going two turns.

Big Apple Daddy looks like a pretty strong lock in the eighth, unless of course Migliore is stupid enough not to send and therefore lets Gold and Roses get loose..

Like Frankel's horse in the finale.

Met yet another dude from the message board today, brockguy, who was in all the way from Ireland.. Seems like another good guy, and rumor has it he's staying here tomorrow night. Apparently the qualifications for being allowed to crash at Hollywood's crib are: A. Like horses and B. Be on DT.

Tomorrow is Sam's birthday, which should be interesting.

Out..

[ateamstupid]

It's like Pee Wee's ****ing Playhouse in here [Aug. 10th, 2006|10:58 pm]
It was just me and Matt at the crib, then all of a sudden, Sam, Steve, Brockguy and a few of Sam's relatives are here..

Bykie Smalls should just put up a big banner on the front of the house that says "Derby Trail Bed and Breakfast"..

So, I was very right about Panty Raid and Miracle Moment, and pretty wrong about the rest of the card.. I was right about one thing though.. Chalk, Chalk Chalk.

Tomorrow's card is ****ing murderous. Toughest card of the meet in my opinion, although I only saw races 5-10 because Hollywood's ink cartridge ran out.

Rained out here today. It was pretty damn nice just chillaxin', watching TV and listening to the rain.. I love the country man, I just wish I had more chances to enjoy it.

Good luck Thursday. I think I'm going to lay off and wait for something a little easier.

[ArlJim78]

"Bykie Smalls "

That's too funny!! priceless

[ateamstupid]

Sword Dancer and Million day [Aug. 11th, 2006|10:36 pm]
Flying solo tomorrow up at the 'cue.. Not looking forward to it. Gonna be a madhouse, and if I hear Paulie or Barry complain one more time about the plexiglass windows, I think my head is going to combust. This Saratoga **** wears on you even if you're just handicapping, but if you're doing what we're doing, it's twenty ****ing times worse.

Anyway, NTRA National Pick Four tomorrow. My thoughts..

Vandy - This race is crying for someone to come from off the pace.. I can't play Mass Media at 5-2 considering he never puts two big races together back-to-back. Judiths Wild Rush has a good shot, but my "longshot special" of the day is Thunder Touch. I think he just hated the West Coast, and I doubt that McLaughlin, who's no fool, would put him in here just for exercise. At upwards of 20-1, he's worth an inclusion. War Front could bounce and still win this, and Afrashad has always intrigued me. Bishop Court Hill reeks of cheap speed.

Bev. D. - Gorella should roll, but Honey Ryder and Film Maker are definite threats. I say key Gorella and throw in the other two in savers..

Sword Dancer - Relaxed Gesture looks like a fairly safe single (considering the alternatives).. The only other horse that really intrigues me is Wild Desert, but I can't really afford to double my ticket. Single 'Gesture and play a 'Desert/'Gesture exacta..

Milliown - Wide open. Cacique and English Channel are the horses to beat, but they're way outside, and there are too many horses with the ability to jump up and win this to just use those two. I'd go The Tin Man, Ace, Soldier Hollow, Phoenix Reach, Better Talk Now, Cacique and EC.

Shaky ticket - 1,3,4,5 / 1 / 2 / 2,3,5,7,8,10,11
4x1x1x7 x $1 = $28

Savers - Beverly D.: $5 Exacta 6,11 / 1.. $2 Trifecta 6,11 / 6,11 / 1.. Sword Dancer: $8 Exacta 6 / 2..

There you go.. Plenty of fun for only $50.. Until Mass Media cruises in the Vanderbilt and makes that whole mess a whole mess..

[SCUDSBROTHER]

If 3 are Blazin,' it will be a BLAZIN' THREESOME.

[ateamstupid]

Possible joke of the meet [Aug. 12th, 2006|11:01 pm]
And there have been some great ones.

Matt goes "How many more good days is it gonna take to get Barry to wear some pants around the house"..

****ing hilarious.. This dude is constantly walking around in his tighty whities.

Apparently today was insanely busy, but I didn't do that much more business than I did yesterday. Tomorrow's gonna be a zoo just because it's a giveaway day.

At the windows, started out well with a win bet on Five Star Thief (in midstretch, I was thinking to myself "I can't believe this ****ing $3 million pig is gonna beat me"), then went downhill when I dropped most of the stakes races (Go Deputy busted my NTRA Pick Four, but I managed to recoup by hitting the chalky late Pick 3 and Double at Arlingstone (not before the typically overconfident Leparoux nearly gave me a heart attack on the 2 in the finale).

Pretty funny today. I got a voice mail from my boy Frankie in the city (the only horse racing fan in my crew) early in the day, but I couldn't check it until after the Bev. D. Well, he's talking about how he's gonna nail the NTRA Pick Four, and he starts rattling off the horses he's gonna use ("Film Maker is a LOCK", "Mass Media is a single").. I just hadda laugh.

If Mike Smith can't get Rewrite home in that filly stake tomorrow, he should go back to California. The seventh and tenth are tough, and the West Point is actually interesting. Matt and I are leaning towards Dave and Golden Commander.. Apparently one of Chuck Simon's horses is very live tomorrow (not sure which one)..

Later.

[ateamstupid]

Freeloaders [Aug. 13th, 2006|10:48 pm]
Another giveaway day at the SSSSSPPPPAAAA, and you know what that means.. Lots of cheap MF'ers.

Got close to even for the meet by hitting the triple in the last race.. Pretty hilarious that Mascot opened at 10/1 because no one realized he drew into the race.. Then he started getting absolutely hammered and went off at 4/1.. If there were another 10 minutes to post, he would've gone off at 3/2.

Matt and I missed the super by a head.. Had 11/4/2/5, came in 11/2/4/5..

TGTM.. Thank God Tomorrow's Monday.. $77k carryover and I think we're taking a shot. Hopefully we go one better than last Monday and actually get six this time.

Met someone else from the board today (gales).. Another cool guy. I'm surprised how many normal people there are on that website. I figured it'd be all freaks.

Enjoy tomorrow's card everyone. Hopefully it'll be another beautiful day in 'toga Springs.. This week has been stellar weather-wise.

Money, Cash, Arrr..

[PSH]

Thanks for the daily updates Hooves.
It was great meeting you on Whitney weekend.

Congrats on the tri. I also had Macot to win and place and the exacta...
Agree that he was a nice price at 4-1. Coa gave him a nice ride...

Good luck hitting six today...

PSH

Paul:)

[ateamstupid]

Thanks for the daily updates Hooves.
It was great meeting you on Whitney weekend.

Congrats on the tri. I also had Macot to win and place and the exacta...
Agree that he was a nice price at 4-1. Coa gave him a nice ride...

Good luck hitting six today...

PSH

Paul:)

Hooves? It's the ateam buddy..

[ateamstupid]

Back in black [Aug. 14th, 2006|11:58 pm]
Finally got back into positive territory for the meet by hitting the early pick four at 'toga today, which paid way too much.. The parlay equated to about $360 and it paid $902.. Nice.

Two days off yo..

Tomorrow I'll be back with a recap of the first half of the meet.

LATER!

[ateamstupid]

Halfway home at the Spa [Aug. 15th, 2006|05:21 pm]
First-half horse racing awards:

Best performance - Bernardini
I don't know if there's really another competitor for this spot. A lot of very evenly-matched fields.. No real dominating performances. Unfortunately, I wasn't in town for this one, but he just jogged against a solid field of 3-year-olds. I'm actually glad Bluegrass Cat ran so well at Monmouth, because now, 'dini might be 3/5 instead of 1/20.. Not that I'd bet him to win, but perhaps the pick fo' will pay something.

Biggest dud - Artie Schiller
Matt should be happy about this one. I mean, what the **** was the excuse this time? Was there an injury I didn't hear about? I'm seriously asking, because I haven't been reading DRF like I do back home. Either way, he was awful. Relaxed Gesture and Rewrite are two major competitors for this spot after this past weekend. Yeah, neither of them got great rides, but they both should've still been better than they were.

Best stretch duel - Spun Sugar and Balletto in The Go for Wand
That was a blast to watch, and after going to see Balletto a few days later, I now wish she would've gotten the nod. What a sweetheart. Close second goes to Invasor and Sun King in The Whitney.

"You should've stayed home" trainer award - Dale Romans
Scott Lake has put up some serious competition for this spot, but Romans has been just awful.. Something like 1-for-24 I believe..

Sneaky good trainer award - Jamie Sanders
I don't know how this girl got such a terrible win percentage, but she's been sending out some LIVE horses this meet. When you see a Sanders entry, all I can say is you'd better pay attention.

Best jockey - Garret Gomez
Of course Johnny and Prado are huge candidates, but I think Gomez has done more with less this meet. My boy Javier is also "quietly making some noise"..

Worst jockey - Mike Smith
Enough said.

Best-looking baby (male) - City Snitch
It's been a bit of a disappointing meet for the 2-year-old boys.. Scat Daddy was ehh.. City Snitch was mighty impressive early on, and since then, it's been kinda dull.

Best-looking baby (female) - Panty Raid
Still not quite sure how this much talked about filly paid $10 and the entire Beta Y Kappa house is kicking itself for not hammering her harder than we did.

Weirdest occurance - Three Lions and Giant Chieftan both bolting at the exact same spot of the turf course
Both of them looked like easy winners, got to about the 1/8th pole, and as Tom Durkin put it, "snatched defeat from the jaws of victory."

On to the personal awards..

Best moment - Experiencing country life
Being alive to a $21,000+ pick six payout is a close second, followed by getting to see the backstretch and meet some champion horses, but every time so far that I've felt what it's like outside of the city, I've been on cloud nine. As wide-eyed as smalltown people are when they come to NYC, that's how I am when I'm in the fields out here.. It's funny, we came up with the "Fresh Air Fund" joke before I even came up, but it really has been a trip. Now of course, I could never live out here for good.. I'm a city boy.. But living up here temporarily has expanded my horizons a ton already.

Best parimutuel hit - Yesterday's early pick four
$451 on a $20 investment. Got me back into the black for the meet.. Just gotta try to keep rolling.

Worst mistake - Collectively, all of us not including Prideland in our pick six ticket
Would've been three grand richer apiece had we just thrown that horse in..

Funniest moment - Too many to count
Everybody in this house is hilarious. It's way too much fun busting balls and shooting the **** with these dudes.

Best surprise - Getting to meet so many cool members of Derby Trail, and having so many people read this journal. If anybody else makes it up here, come see the kid at the clubhouse!

Finally, the second half outlook..

Looking forward to most - Travers Day
Boring answer, I know, but it should be nuts. How about the way The King's Bishop is shaping up? Henny, Too Much Bling, Songster, Fabulous Strike.. Not to mention Bernardini getting to stamp himself as top 3-year-old. Plus, the climax of the meet. If I can just make it until then..

Looking forward to least - Having to start school three days after I go home
That's gonna be some ****ing juggling act. I'm gonna feel like sleeping for two straight weeks, but I get no such break since this doesn't shut down until Labor day..

Hope everyone has a safe and profitable second half of the meet. Shoot me a private message or come see me at the track in my Carolina Slavecue glory! Keep on keepin' on racing fans..

[timmgirvan]

Great stuff,Dude!

[ateamstupid]

Creamed again on day off [Aug. 16th, 2006|10:50 pm]
Really thought I was pretty damn smart for singling that Levine horse in the 7th, then Octave set my pick four ticket aflame.

Earlier in the day, I was ready to kill someone after I tried to beat Wild Fit in the pick four with every horse except Frankel's.. Luckily that $1,500,000 dog (who I singled) didn't win the fourth, so I didn't have to go 'cidal. As it is, the pick four was kinda light ($1,037) considering that two odds-on favorites got beaten (one at 1/4)..

Other than wagering-wise though, today was great. I got to sit and talk to Chuck Simon one-on-one for about an hour, and he's a very cool guy. Then, a little later on, Frankel came by and sat with us to eat, which was nice. Also, after Sciacca finally broke through in the win column, Esteban and I got to be in the photo, which had to be rushed like a mother****er since Bold Love was going totally haywire.. The horse took a bite at Gary's head and actually cut him pretty good, which sparked plenty of jokes (if only he had known all it took to get a 'toga win was a part of his scalp, etc.)..

Back to work tomorrow.. Sigh..

[ateamstupid]

Lobster [Aug. 17th, 2006|10:21 pm]
Why does the lobster get the shaft as far as cooked animals goes? They're the only ones who have to sit there and wait to get cooked and eaten.

It was mighty good though.. I felt bad, but it was tasty..

Two more people in the house tonight. You know, as long as they handicap, the more, the merrier. Steve is hiding out..

Lobsters were on the house, courtesy of Baymont..

[ateamstupid]

I don't know what's up [Aug. 18th, 2006|10:18 pm]
Seems like I'm dealing with my first episode of homesickness.. Dunno why really.. Just suddenly I feel very out of it, very estranged, very alone.. Not that I don't like it up here, and Byk is as accomodating a host as there is.. I just miss home.. But I know I have to make it at least until Travers..

On a brighter note, there is an absolutely terrific card tomorrow. Best card of the meet thus far, in my opinion. Might pull out the big guns and try to hit something rather hard.

Just don't feel like writing much..

[ateamstupid]

Beat like a dirty rug [Aug. 19th, 2006|10:17 pm]
Absolutely insane today.. Busiest day of the meet thus far. No real breaks, but thankfully, it wasn't ever too overwhelming. I think I handled it pretty well.

Was getting my ass served to me throughout the whole day until I bailed out with the exacta in the finale. Needed that one pretty badly.. Now I can still go into tomorrow's pick six carryover slightly in the black.

Matt and I came up with an $864 ticket.. Hope we can get Mr. Krabs to pitch in a few Benjies considering I don't really wanna spend more than a c-note.. I'd rather play the late pick four, which looks fairly straightforward.

****ing rain might throw a wrench in all of those P6 aspirations though. It isn't severe rain, but it's been constant since about 7:00.

A little over the homesick **** for the moment, but I'm still at the point where I may hit the road after The Travers.

If it is gonna rain tomorrow, I hope it's a total washout and it keeps everyone away.. I need two slow days heading into Travers week.

Still haven't gotten my ID **** from home to take the permit test and start driving. I'm pretty disappointed, as that was one of my main goals this summer.. To get my license. I suppose I could still put in some work.. I wanna take some spins out here before trying to drive in the city..

Off to bed.

[ateamstupid]

This far from pick six glory [Aug. 20th, 2006|11:01 pm]



Major update tomorrow..

[ateamstupid]

I lied.. [Aug. 21st, 2006|10:21 pm]
Drunk off Captain's and Coke.. Update postponed until tomorrow.

[ateamstupid]

So yeah [Aug. 22nd, 2006|09:48 pm]
Got nice and wasted last night.. And I mean NICE and wasted.. Not like last time. Captain and Coke is too delicious.

I love Steve's mom.. Apparently she got in a tizzy because I dropped the N-bomb in my last post.. Steve had to explain that it was a colloquialism and wasn't malicious.. I still edited it out because the last thing I wanna do on this **** is offend anyone.

Did some funny stuff last night.. Gave myself a drunken haircut and got a nice mohawk going just because I've always wanted a mohawk, even if only for a day.. Figured I'd scare the pants off of Barry as we head into Travers week.

Really had a blast.. Sam and Hooves also got to hear my raps for the first time.

The fair's in town and the Carny Code is in full effect ladies and gentlemen. These girls swear they're gonna take me, but as of yet, no call has been placed.

Think I gotta decide quite soon (as in tomorrow or Thursday) what I'm going to do after this week. If I bounce, I'll hand the diary reins to.. Not sure about that yet.

Still missing home.. Tryna pass the time capping with the boys. ****ing hit about seven exactas at Suffolk today, but still somehow ended up in the red for the day. Tomorrow I'm gonna go pretty heavy since I've got the day off. I've gotten creamed on both my vacation days thus far.. Gotta switch it up. Gonna actually try to take some pictures tomorrow, as my photog game has been on slack.

Off like a dirty shirt.. Peace with two fingers. All that.

[ateamstupid]

Carryover fever [Aug. 23rd, 2006|10:22 pm]
Who's got it?

Not us, considering we've been 'capping for about three hours straight and have only come up with a $480 ticket that none of us have any confidence in.

Paddock draw for The Travers was today.. Went there, but realized I forgot my camera. Could've gotten a great shot of Durkin looking like The Phantom of the Opera and **** up in a gazebo with the curtains down around him.

You know what I love? All the Bernardini naysayers.. If these guys' wallets were half as big as their mouths, I might actually get a decent price on that ****ing monster this Saturday..

Spent some more time discussing the game and trying to pick some winners with Chucky Simon today. I broke even for the day even though I hammered that Schwartz baby and Low Creek later on..

Figure I gotta nail something huge this weekend and either send me off right or carry me through the rest of the meet. I'm still just treading water, and it's no good.

Think I'll do a real nice writeup for Saturday's card tomorrow night.

All the girls are leaving.. Julie looks ****ing tremendous outside of work.. Got the digits just in case.

Stay cool folks.

[ateamstupid]

Building up [Aug. 24th, 2006|11:04 pm]
You can feel the tension mounting as we get closer and closer to the big day. Today was fairly slow, and was my kinda day.. Just enough customers to keep me from being bored, but not so many that I'm overwhelmed.. I'd be very shocked if tomorrow wasn't at least 25% busier. Barry tells me that Ace is gonna be my wingman this Saturday.. Great, they give me the dude that can't even see over the counter.. Nah.. Ace is my man, I just have to figure out how the hell I'm gonna organize ****.. That's not really my strong suit.

Started out on Saturday's pick four and pretty much gonna go balls to the wall and hope for the best. Bernardini will be a single on every ticket.. I'm not pulling any sissy ****. If he goes down, so to will I.. I don't think he'll disappoint me.

I'm still incredibly torn on whether I wanna cut out early.. I'd love to stick it out for the whole meet.. If only school got pushed back a week.. Ugh..

Had three of four in today's pick four and made the mistake of singling Cherokee Jewel.. She was a big flop. Tomorrow, I'll probably **** around with a couple of cheap tickets.. Sky High Flier, Battle Chant, Manchu Prince and Fleet Indian all look like solid singles, with SHF and FI being my most confident ones.

Watch out for Weaver's babies, especially on the grass.. He's been doing VERY well with his 2-year-olds, and I don't think the public has caught on just yet.

Back tomorrow with as much Travers **** as I can come up with.

[ateamstupid]

Have to hammer tomorrow [Aug. 25th, 2006|10:02 pm]
It's imperative. Gotta nail it. Not sure how.. pick six? Pick four? Combination of the two? 'dini is a lock.. Henny's close to a lock.. I like Ashkal Way a lot.. I like Sweet Talker a lot. So know that if those four horses get it done, or if 2-3 of those four win and no total bombs come in.. I'll have it a few times.

Frankel's horse in the seventh, On Board Again, is a must bet.. And here's rooting for Chucky Simon to get that elusive win with Brilliant Son if OBA doesn't run.

Well, it's the big day.. About to get outta here so I can get (hopefully) five hours of sleep.. Gotta be at the track for about fourteen hours tomorrow.

The coronation tomorrow..

And on a related topic.. HOW THE **** ABOUT DISCREET CAT TODAY.. I really can't remember the last time I was that blown away after watching a race.. 'dini had a similar performance in the 'Dandy, but I was EXPECTING him to roll.

I mean.. This horse apparently was short.. Was facing a solid field.. Coming off a long layoff.. Broke from the far outside.. And just ****ing totally romped. All by himself. He probably could've won by twice the margin he did.. Then to bust out 1:21 on the timer.. This is gonna be a 150 Beyer.. It's almost unfathomable what this horse is capable of.

Enjoy this time, racing fans. In the span of two days, we might be seeing two of the best 3-year-olds in a LONG, LONG time.

Have a fun, safe and profitable Travers day, folks.. 'diiiniii to the rescue..

[pick4]

Someone posted that Discreet Cat ran a 112 and what a performance he put on while running in hand 4 wide round the turn and being geared down in the stretch. A prep for the Jerome the connections say. Hmm.. the Jerome was Silver Train's prep for the BC Sprint. I think Discreet Cat could be a champion sprinter/miler and turn back in distance will not be a problem for him. It's good to have a great horse like Discreet Cat back on the track in the States.

Sweet Talker ran a real game race last out at a distance which was probably a tad too far for her and she still ran a great race. She's 4 for 4 at the 8 1/2 furlong distance and with her post some sit a ground saving trip. There appears to be a bit of pace in here with My Typhoon and Stella Blue to let Sweet Talker sit a nice close to the pace stalking trip.

The Baruch might have a pace setup which suits Ashkal Way perfectly. I read somewhere that my top choice Fishy Advice is hurt and will skip the race. If that is so my top choice is the Godolphin entry since the pace should be swift and Ashkal Way has a good closing kick.

[ateamstupid]

And that's that [Aug. 26th, 2006|08:53 pm]
I don't wanna hear anything negative about this monster again. Until he proves that there's something he can't do, SAVE IT. This ****ing horse was a MAN AMONG BOYS today, and he will continue to be against anyone not named Invasor or Discreet Cat.

Here's a rough transcript of the Javier-'dini interaction in today's stretch..

Javy: Let's go 'dini..
Bern': Chill man.. This Bluegrass Cat still thinks he's catching me.. I wanna tease him.
Javy: No 'dini, it's time to go..
Bern': C'mon son.. Just let me string him along a little longer.
Javy: No 'dini.
Bern': C'mon..
Javy: *CRACK*
Bern': Fine, fine.. WE OUT!

Did okay at the windows, but had Dreadnaught nosed out Ashkal Way, it would've been a VERY good day.. pick four would've paid about $300 and I had it six or seven times. As it is I had the $58 ticket seven times.. Can't complain.

Spoke to the old man and told him he HAS to come out to Belmont to see this horse.. He agreed.

Aw yeah.. Forgot..



Might as well have gotten this started Wednesday night..

Canoe tomorrow.

[ateamstupid]

Gotta make this quick [Aug. 27th, 2006|10:52 pm]
As I'm about to fall asleep last night, I hear "zzzZZZttt" and see a bright ass light on the side of my bed.. Turns out the wire of the charger for my laptop got burned through.. So I'm not taking any chances trying to plug that back in and therefore, I have to make this short in order to conserve battery.

I'm outta here Saturday.. Told the boss man I'd work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday..

As much as I wanna leave, it's kinda hitting me now how quick this summer has gone by and how much I'm gonna miss it. There's a lot of **** I didn't get to do, but hopefully we can have a lot of fun this week. Tomorrow is a Byk AND Barry-free Monday, so we gettin' hammered son.

Whoops.. battery just died and now I'm on Byk's computer.. Guess the Travers canoe pictures are going to have to wait.

See you tomorrow.

[ateamstupid]

Whoops [Aug. 29th, 2006|04:59 pm]
Got way too drunk last night to make an update.. By about 11:00, I was at the point where I couldn't even stand up straight, so I knew I wasn't going to be able to make a coherent, non-offensive entry.

It's just me and Matt at the crib right now. Barry's in PA, Steve's in VT and Sam is back home. We trekked to Albany today and hit the Crossgates mall, but not before getting lost about thirty times. Matt also got fined for making an illegal U-turn, and we couldn't figure out how they knew at the tollbooth that he did an illegal U-turn like twenty miles away..

So I might be here until the end of the meet after all. Thinking I'll just hang out and you know, HAVE FUN this weekend.. I'm pretty sure this is Saratoga and you're not supposed to dread going to the track.

Every night now, it's get drunk and listen to the rat pack.. Absolutely outstanding. Sinatra's on pump right now.

LOTS of rain here today.. Can't see them running on the turf tomorrow.

[ateamstupid]

Hysterical [Aug. 31st, 2006|08:42 pm]
Matt just called Barry "Krabs" by accident. Gotta be one of the funniest things I've heard since I got here.

So, time's winding down.. Tomorrow's my last day on the job and then I'm probably gonna be on my way back to the city Saturday night. As much as we talk about how this **** is like Groundhog Day and how tiring it is, this whole thing went by quick as hell. I can't believe the summer's about to end.. Everything happened in the blink of an eye now that I look back on it. Never thought I'd be sad to leave this..

On a brighter note, we sleepin' in tomorrow baby.. Getting to the track at 1, first post at 3. I still think everyone's overhyping this whole thing.. It's freaking two hours different.. Dudes out here are acting like they're racing at midnight and ****.

I'll most likely be writing more before the end, but in case I forget to mention it.. Thanks for reading my nonsense this meet and I really hope it's been as fun for you as it has been for me. Peace.

[Bigsmc]

Hysterical [Aug. 31st, 2006|08:42 pm]
I'll most likely be writing more before the end, but in case I forget to mention it.. Thanks for reading my nonsense this meet and I really hope it's been as fun for you as it has been for me. Peace.

It has been a blast for me to read your diary. I thank you for some fine entertainment and photos. Here's hoping it is an annual event.

Bigs

[oracle80]

Hysterical [Aug. 31st, 2006|08:42 pm]
Matt just called Barry "Krabs" by accident. Gotta be one of the funniest things I've heard since I got here.

So, time's winding down.. Tomorrow's my last day on the job and then I'm probably gonna be on my way back to the city Saturday night. As much as we talk about how this **** is like Groundhog Day and how tiring it is, this whole thing went by quick as hell. I can't believe the summer's about to end.. Everything happened in the blink of an eye now that I look back on it. Never thought I'd be sad to leave this..

On a brighter note, we sleepin' in tomorrow baby.. Getting to the track at 1, first post at 3. I still think everyone's overhyping this whole thing.. It's freaking two hours different.. Dudes out here are acting like they're racing at midnight and ****

I'll most likely be writing more before the end, but in case I forget to mention it.. Thanks for reading my nonsense this meet and I really hope it's been as fun for you as it has been for me. Peace.

Ateam you should really be proud of yourself. Getting up early each day and schlepping in to work for the honor of wearing an apron and serving all those sandwiches and having to watch all those folks enjoying the races and capping while you are stuck working. I didn't figure you to last the whole meet. You got balls kid, good job.

[ateamstupid]

All computers lagged [Sep. 2nd, 2006|11:47 pm]
We've got about two dozen people in the house now. Kelly and Martin brought the whole family to hit up the Slavecue.

Today was the first day in about two years I've felt like crying at the track.. Anybody that was here knows that I opened the Form last night and IMMEDIATELY pointed to Pomeroy.. "This is the winner".. And what happens? You know it.

The horse pays $14.20 and I don't have a dime on him to win. Bad day.. Very bad..

J to the OEY goes home tommorrow. We're partying tonight.

$335k carryover.. Bust that ass.

WE'RE GOING GOING.. BACK BACK.. TO BROOKLYN, BROOKLYN.

[pgardn]

All computers lagged [Sep. 2nd, 2006|11:47 pm]
We've got about two dozen people in the house now. Kelly and Martin brought the whole family to hit up the Slavecue.

Today was the first day in about two years I've felt like crying at the track.. Anybody that was here knows that I opened the Form last night and IMMEDIATELY pointed to Pomeroy.. "This is the winner".. And what happens? You know it.

The horse pays $14.20 and I don't have a dime on him to win. Bad day.. Very bad..

J to the OEY goes home tommorrow. We're partying tonight.

$335k carryover.. Bust that ass.

WE'RE GOING GOING.. BACK BACK.. TO BROOKLYN, BROOKLYN.

Way to hang big fella. Tough sledding. Hard work. Enjoyed the reading.

[ateamstupid]

Conclusion.. [Sep. 9th, 2006|12:05 am]
Now that I finally have some time to do this, I think I'm about ready to roll.

Let's get this out of the way first.. Random unused pictures from the Saratoga meet..



































Whew.. So where to begin..

Where does the time go? Seems like just all too recently, I was arriving at the Byk house, dropping my bags in my room and taking that first breath of country air.. Then I close my eyes and it's opening day. Thrust into the flames. I take another look around and it's week two.. Saratoga's closed because of the heat, but that doesn't stop Sciacca, Sonny, Shrek and Donkey from posting up at Steve's stand and eating. I catch my breath and we're five alive in the pick sixer on Hall of Fame day.. Before I can even turn around, Pine Island and Teammate are slugging it out in The Alabama. I take a walk to the window and by the time I come back, the old-time Travers replays are blaring on the TVs. I sell some dude a sandwich and they're in the gate for the big one. Bernardini crosses the wire and before I can go take his picture, it's twilight racing at the Spa. I bend over to tie my shoes and by the time I get back up, my bags are packed. I wanna start soaking it up and I'm saying goodbye to Steve.

Six weeks, fourty-two days. That's it. But the amount of memories, jokes, anecdotes, new friends, food and excitement extracted from those 1,008 hours? Unmeasurable.

I'm back in Brooklyn now. I missed the city. I missed home. But you know what? It ain't quite the same feeling I used to have when I would just get back from outta town. This is the greatest place in the world to be, the capital of the universe, and I'm missing ****ing Greenwich. What kinda sense does that make?

I'll letcha know why it makes sense. Because of all this..

THE FRONT OF THE SHIRT:
Matt AKA Squidward.. Instantly became one of my best buddies. You're the man.. Good luck with everything and we'll definitely be in touch. Too many inside jokes would fall by the wayside if we weren't. ****ing hilarious dude this Hooves is, folks. Cool as ****, and sharp as a tack.. I don't know how he does it, but he finds ways to cash tickets even when I can't figure out his logic at all.

Sam AKA Patrick.. Busting my balls constantly, but I know it's out of love (I hope).. You talking in your sleep, Kool Aid drinkin', D&G shades wearing summummabitch. Keep them fiends on the strip double red, and hopefully I see you for the SB.

Barry AKA Mr. Krabs.. Tight as a Twizzler that I stayed an extra couple of days just to gamble, but he'll get over it. I ran that Clubhouse like a well-oiled machine.. The sternos may have kept on running out, but I was ready. Thanks for the employment boss man. Arrr..

Chuck Simon.. This ****ing dude is great. Spent day after day just bull****ting with a 19-year-old shmuck like me and you know why? Because he's an awesome guy and he LOVES THIS GAME. I was pulling for him to get that win, but it's cool.. He'll crush in KY as usual.

Steve Grabowski and family.. Grabo's the man. Period. If you don't know, now you know. Respect him. Easily one of the best guys I've ever met. And if that weren't enough, he's a fellow Jet fan (sufferer). His mom is also a kickass handicapper and cool as can be.

Paulieman.. "What's up Bernardini".. "You're the man".. "It's a little shawt"..Red Sox suck big man. You know, we were thinking of what Spongebob character Paulie should be and what his action figure should be like, but we realized.. It's not possible to recreate the Paulie experience and if he were ever on a TV show, he'd HAVE TO play himself. There's just no one quite like P-Dub.

The canucks.. Martin, Kelly, Alex, Teeny and other Kelly. You have to love people who are just drunk 24/7. I mean it's unbelievable. Literally 24/7. It's a way of life for these people.. I'm a pretty good drinker and I was just aboot blown away. Fantastic stuff.

Sciacca, Shrek, Donkey and Sonny.. ****ing characters, one and all. That's all I gotta say.

Tank.. Hilarious dude. So full of ****, such a hoe hounder, such a freeloader. You can't help but love the guy.

Everybody that's Slavecue for life.. Amanda, Jules, Britney, Susie, Pat, Tom, Ace and Gary (too funny), Billy, Ryan, Caroline, Jared, Brendan, Kyle, Kim, Cathy, Rosemary.. The whole clique. Ride high.

The salt shaker man. Let me explain this one. Every day, this old dude, probably in his 70s, would buy popcorn nextdoor to my stand, then come over to my stand, make sure he got my attention, and give me the crook eye while shaking all my salt onto his popcorn. And every day, no matter what kinda mood I was in, it cracked me the **** up. Found out later on his name and he wished me luck with everything. Throw them shakers up for Tom everybody.

Amber, my homegirl who ran the popcorn stand. I could never possibly imagine this girl getting angry.. Simply the most happy-go-lucky, genuinely (as far as I could tell) sweet chick I've met in a LONG time.

Very quickly, as it's getting late and daylight fast approaches..

Brockguy
Gales
Timmy
Kev
Seth Merrow
John DaSilva
Dr. Allday
Dr. Bzyg.. Byzyg.. Byzyzyg..
Serling
Bethani
That cute ****ing teller I kept feeding but never picked up
All the customers that tipped me this meet (just know that your money is going into books for college.. Or liquor and gambling, whichever I get around to first)
Everyone who made me laugh this meet, because there were definitely times I needed laughs ALMOST as much as winning tickets
All the horses, trainers, jockeys, owners.. Pretty much everyone who makes Saratoga run..

A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER AND TO EVERYONE WHO GAVE ME FEEDBACK! I APPRECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY KNOW!

And of course.. Last but certainly not ****ing least.. The man who made it all possible..

Steve Hollywood Spongebob Schmoopie Byk!

Seriously, this guy is the ****ing man. There really is no other way to put it. Go search the earth and find me a more generous, caring, smart, others-before-self person who can balance everything this dude does. You ain't gonna find one. Even though I complain about him from time to time, the bottom line is he's sacrificed a ****ing TON to accomodate me and so many others. Anybody who has anything negative to say about him has no idea what the hell they're talking about. Trust me.. I've seen the best and the worst from the Bykster.. And he's A+.. 10 out of 10. Like no one else I've ever met. To the point where I've told him anything he ever needs from me, it's done. It's that simple. And considering I've only known him for about a year and a half, that's saying something.. But you know what, no matter how much courtesy I ever extend to him, I'd really only be doing what he does for everyone he comes in contact with. Can't thank you enough Esteban.. It was a ****ing GREAT ride.

Joey

[paisjpq]

joey---you're a doll. the man's gonna be crying when he reads you wrap up.
Behave yourself in school...even though we all know the first semester you have to major in beer and women. B

[dellinger63]

Great wrapup and thanks for taking us all on the ride with you....I will definately be back next summer and most likely every summer for the rest of my life. That place is really special.

[Gander]

Great ateam, well done. Now what am I going to read?
Glad your Saratoga/Greenwich experience treated you so good.
See you on Oct 7th!

[bigjag0716]

Holy **** dude how have you been?

[bigjag0716]

oh crap man how have you been?

[Bigsmc]

Simply awesome Dude.

Looking forward to next year. I'll be there opening week and will get up to the Clubhouse to shake your hand. Hung out, out back when I was there this year (met Steve, Oracle, PSH...) didn't really realize you were in the Clubhouse until later.

A very fun read. Great job.

Mike

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

nice job o-e-y...why dont these peeps know dini is the goods im so tired of this ****...its mad funny..lol are you going to da bc...im almost out of here..ill call ya fri....i think byk has gone full shmoopie..hope your still in school....

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

just re read this whole thing....man its like yesterday...im laughing over and over